Google’s search engine has a number of filters that, in one way or another, affect website promotion. Google has many filters, hundreds, perhaps even thousands.
This article discusses the main Google search engine filters that are worth paying attention to when promoting SEO.
Google Search Filters
1. Duplicate content
Websites are growing in number every day, and their number of pages is growing rapidly. Numerous resources duplicate the same content on their own sites. Processing data requires resources, and the number grows exponentially.
As a result, a filter was launched that is applied to duplicate content.
How the filter works:
If you publish non-unique information on your website taken from other sources, Google will demote that article or page in search results.
There are 2 options for action:
— your site is included in supplemental results, that is, results not included in the main index
— the page falls out of the search engine index
How to avoid being filtered:
When promoting any website, it is necessary to use unique texts, and if you take texts from other resources, then rewrite them.
If there are duplicate pages on the site, for example, the same service or product description pages, then you need to remove the duplicates or close them from indexing on the site.
By any normal means, you need to make the content on your website unique in order to avoid the consequences of a filter for duplicate content.
2. Sandbox
The purpose of this filter is to maintain top rankings for high-frequency queries, both commercial and informational.
It was also launched to combat spam and dubious websites. Therefore, it can take over five months for a website to rank for the top queries.
How the filter works:
If a newly created website begins to be promoted by competitive and high-frequency queries, then it will most likely not be able to reach the top at first.
The Sandbox filter doesn’t work on mid- and low-frequency keywords. Therefore, it’s best to initially focus on promoting low-frequency keywords while simultaneously working on high-frequency ones.
How to avoid being filtered:
This is difficult for new sites, but you can find an old domain that matches your topic, and there are two options:
— create a website on the old domain
– merge the old domain with the new one
Both options are fine and work, but it all depends on the correct linking. It’s also important to check the old domain for backlinks and review its history.
Read the articles:
— analysis of competitors’ websites
— How to check a website’s history
It’s not applicable to many topics, especially in Ukraine, and you can easily promote websites and achieve fairly quick results.
3. Rapid growth of links
If a site’s links grow too quickly, Google may suspect that it is being manipulated.
How the filter works:
If Google detects a very rapid increase in links to a site, it may automatically demote it in search results. This results in a drop in rankings and traffic, and a long wait to return the site to the top.
How to avoid being filtered:
You need to slowly and gradually build up your website’s link mass so that it looks as natural as possible in Google’s eyes.
4. Google Bombing
When there are too many direct anchor text matches, Google sees that the site owner wants to be at the top of the search results for top words.
An example of such an anchor sheet:
As we can see in the photo, in the anchor list, only those keywords that the site owner wants to be at the top are promoted.
How the filter works:
If you only use direct anchor text, Google may sooner or later become suspicious, resulting in a ranking drop. Typically, this starts with a drop of -10 to -15 positions. Then, the site drops to -100. If you neglect this too much, you can also get banned by Google, which means all your pages are removed from the search engine index.
How to avoid being filtered:
To avoid this filter, it’s best to use a highly-diluted anchor text and plenty of branded keywords. If you dilute your links wisely, you can avoid this filter and successfully rank in search results.
5. – 30
Filter 30 is designed to combat true spam in search results. This could include sites with hidden redirects, as well as doorway pages.
How the filter works:
It demotes such sites by -30. That is, the site does not appear above the 30th position in Google search results.
How to avoid being filtered:
The easiest way is to not use black hat website promotion methods, and everything will be fine.
6. Co-citation
If you’re promoting a website, it’s essential to ensure that relevant resources link to you. However, if a website successfully climbs to the top positions and receives links from sites unrelated to its topic, this filter may come into effect.
How the filter works:
Search engines analyze backlinks to your site, which can be viewed through Google Webmaster Tools. If the percentage of irrelevant links is high, this filter may be applied to your site.
It works best if your site has a lot of links from undesirable topics, such as pornography, gambling, etc.
How to avoid being filtered:
Avoid using such links when promoting; instead, focus on using thematically relevant links to the site being promoted. If these links are from competitors, they can be demoted in Google Webmaster Tools.
7. Re-optimization
The filter was created to demote sites that are heavily over-optimized internally.
How the filter works:
It takes into account the number of keywords on a page. If a site is heavily optimized for them, these pages may drop off or be significantly lowered in search results. Website text optimization must be adequate, otherwise there’s a risk of being filtered.
How to avoid being filtered:
To avoid being penalized for over-optimization, you need to carefully optimize your website’s text and content, avoid over-saturating everything with keywords, and prioritize optimization for people, not just search engines.
8. Website loading speed
It’s no secret that website loading speed affects promotion and rankings.
How the filter works:
If a website loads slowly when accessed from a search engine, and this happens frequently, Google may lower the website’s ranking in search results.
How to avoid being filtered:
To avoid being penalized for loading speed, you need to host your website on high-quality servers with reliable providers. If the loading issue is related to the website’s content management system (CMS), you need to carefully optimize the CMS to ensure all scripts run and load quickly. You should also constantly monitor your website’s speed and availability.
9. Supplemental Results
The filter is applied to website pages it deems unimportant. For example, these could be pages with duplicate content or pages with no incoming links.
How filters work:
Such pages are poorly ranked by Google, and these results can also be viewed by clicking on view additional results.
How to avoid being filtered:
To avoid being filtered, you need to add these pages to additional search results. The solutions are simple:
— remove duplicate pages (or make pages unique)
— place external links on the page
Additional search results are not so scary, but you need to ensure that priority pages and sections are in the main search results.
10. Link exchange
In the old days, link exchange was a very popular promotion method. Separate pages were created that linked to third-party resources. The same was true for third-party resources. As a result, websites’ rankings improved.
How the filter works:
If a search engine detects mass link exchange, it will lower the site’s ranking in search results.
How to avoid being filtered:
The main thing: don’t use pages with links to other resources. This is known in certain circles as “link farms.”
If you’ve already been hit by such a filter, you should remove such pages or block them from indexing. Wait a bit, and your rankings will return.
11. Trust Rank or the level of trust in a website
This parameter or filter takes into account many parameters. The gist is this: the more authoritative a resource is, the better it is for its Google ranking.
The conditional Trust Rank depends on various indicators such as:
— link mass to the site
– quality, topicality and authority of links to the site
— age of the domain name
– the quality of the content on the site
– internal linking
And much more.
These are the main Google search engine filters. As I mentioned above, there are many Google filters, but when promoting, it’s important to consider the basic ones to avoid getting your site filtered or banned.
Source: SeoProfy
